Kelly Gets That Beer Money, Steph That Yoghurt Money, and The Journalists Get Their Turn At The Pool

Ten Things From Surfing & The Internet On The Week That Was February 2, 2018

1. Let's Start With The Sad News

I spend most of the time I write This Week In Surfing essentially adding longwinded video captions that serve as left-field silly commentary of what's happening in surfing. That's most of the time. But occcassionally something horrible happens in our playful little surf world. This week it was the CEO of Quiksilver, Pierre Agnes, going missing after his 11 metre boat was found washed up off France's Atlantic Coast, not far from Hossegor. Before that, Agnes had been fishing in the morning and had signalled to the coast guard that he'd be delaying his return due to fog and an eight-foot swell. It became one of those awful situations where extensive searches went on while the rest of the surfing world could only pray for a miracle, and the longer the searches continued with no news, the greater a miracle that would have to be. A day ago the search was sadly called off. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends.

Pint-sized surf prodigy turned YouTube star, Sabre Norris graced the homepage of The Age this week under the headline, "'I cry in bed a lot': Surfing champ knows she can't hide from health battle".

Medical tests have revealled that Sabre is suffering from a thing called Chiari Malformations – structural defects in the base of the skull and cerebellum, the part of the brain that controls balance. The diagnosis is considerably rough too as Sabre's revealed she's training to join the 2020 Olympic skateboarding squad, which like surfing, will be a part of the Olympics for the first time at the Tokyo games.

At the end of last year a bunch of writers, journalists and media types in surfing were invited to surf the Kelly Slater Wave Pool at the Surf Ranch in Lemoore, California (This Week In Surfing's team of journalists unfortunately had some playing Nintendo Switch in their bedroom commitments and couldn't attend). Upon arrival, however, those invited had to sign a media embargo, and were not allowed to publish any thoughts, writing, videos, podcasts, stone carvings, whatever of their time until February 1, 2018.

So, this week, it's all out there. All of the thoughts. Including this discussion featuring surf writing legend Nick Carroll, Surfing World Editor Vaughan Blakey, two time World Champ Tom Carroll, Stab/Surf Europe/Beach Grit founder Derek Rielly, former World No.1 and wave pool competitor Rob Bain, and wave pool creator/surfing futurist Greg Webber talking about it on some couches.

Is it the end of the world? Is it the beginning of a glorious new surfing dawn? Is the Nintendo Switch the best video gaming console in history? Only time will tell.

4. John John Florence Did Some Snapper Laps

While John's favourite QS, the Volcom Pipe Pro, was dusting off the cobwebs and getting started back home on the North Shore, John John Florence was seen testing a bunch of surboards at Snapper this week, a full six weeks before the first WSL CT event of the year in the same location. He uploaded this clip to Instagram with the caption: "The whole secret lies in confusing the enemy, so that he cannot fathom our real intent. -Sun Tzu, The Art of War". I don't know about you, but it sounds like John is pretty fired up to go three from three in this whole surfing world title thing to me.

Did you know that the Super Bowl is this weekend (Monday our time). It's the biggest sporting event in the world for Americans who don't know that a whole world outside of America exists and that no-one else in the world plays this game. But still, it's the biggest event in the world ever ever ever. Anyway, in this year's annual spectacle of TV commercials is a beer ad that features our greatest of all time surfer, Kelly Slater. Kelly Slater, a noted big-time drinker like Bukowski or Hemmingway, is of course the perfect candidate for such an ad.

Chris Pratt is also in it, and so is the song "I Like Beer" by Tom T Hall.

6. Next Up In Ad Time, Steph Gilmore With Some Yoghurt

Malcolm Gladwell is the someone who said it. Kinda.

7. Next In Surf Ad Time: Mason Ho Joins FCS

And here is his welcome to the team clip. A fin manufacturer seems the perfect fit for a guy who often comes very close to smashing them against rocks a lot of the time, no?

8. More and Better Mason

Oh, yes, a full on five minute Mason Ho clip to get February started right.

9. The Volcom Pipe Pro Got Started

Clearly the best QS of the calendar year, the Volcom Pipe Pro QS3000, got started this week. Pipe, and the warriors taking it on, are still warming up at the moment with Round 2 being run today, but it'll be sure to deliver plenty of spectacular moments as it gets firing. Heat to watch: Round 4 heat 3 has John John Florence and Noa Deane lined up to take on Pipe. Can. Not. Wait.

10. Julian Wilson Is Injured

Julian Wilson stacked his bike while doing some cross-training mountain biking this week. He ruptured an AC joint in his shoulder. It's unknown whether he'll be recovered in time for the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast or not just yet. If I had to put money on it, though, I wouldn't, because gambling is bad and ruins the lives of many families in Australia every year. But yeah, I think Jules will find a way to paddle out for his first heat when event 1 of the WSL rolls around.

Wilson announced the news on his Instagram in a to the camera video. I prefer this video that he posted a couple of days before though.

Summer Bright Lager are presenting a Summer Sessions Music Tour, featuring Alex Lahey in a bunch of free east coast shows and two shows in WA too! Over three weekends Lahey will be playing afternoon gigs supported by The Bellingerents, and a local act. Lahey is of course a rising star of Australian indie music claiming a nod from Pitchfork in ther best new music section in 2016, got two songs in the Hottest 100 just passed, while her debut album I Love You Like a Brother was one of the best albums of the year.